Orange Macarons

| Rekha Vengalil

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We at home love oranges and so do we love macarons. Combining the two was undoubtedly a hit! Blended in the citrus flavor by sun drying the orange zest   till completely dry a day before I baked the macarons. Then added them into the almond flour and icing sugar as said in the recipe below.  I was quite apprehensive but they really turned out delicious 🙂

You need –

For The Macarons

  • Confectioners’ sugar – 1 cup
  • Almond flour – 3/4 cup
  • 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • Superfine sugar – 1/4 cup
  • Orange zest – 1 teaspoon. Dried
  • Orange food color – 2 drops or as required
  • Orange essence – 2 drops

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Pre-heat the oven to 375 F

How to –

In food processor, process the almond flour, dried orange zest and icing sugar. Sift the mixture in sieve twice discarding any almond lumps that are too big to pass through the sieve.

Whisk the egg whites in clean dry bowl (no trace of water please) till soft peaks are formed. Add the caster sugar, and beat on a low speed. Once combined increase the speed to high and whisk till glossy and stiff peaks are formed (For me, it took 7 minutes on electric hand beater on a high speed). Add the food color, orange essence and beat for 25-30 seconds. Please make sure not to over beat the egg whites.

Sift the flour mixture over the whites and fold gently using a flexible spatula. You need a smooth and shinny mix.  Do not make the batter too runny or the macaroons won’t rise as they should. When you lift the batter up and let it drop down, it should slowly disappear into itself without leaving a peak.

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip. On a parchment-lined baking sheet or Macaron mat and pipe the ¾ inch rounds leaving 1-2 inch gap between each piping. Drag the pastry tip to the side of rounds rather than forming peaks. Tap bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air.

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Allow the piped macarons to stand on a room temperature for 30-45 minutes.  The stand time varies with temperature at different places. What you need is the piped macarons to form a very thin, smooth crust, when you tap it lightly with your finger, the batter will not stick to your finger.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macarons are crisp and firm, about 10 minutes. After each batch, increase oven temperature to 375 degrees, heat for 5 minutes, then reduce to 325 degrees.

Let macarons cool on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack. If macarons stick, spray water underneath parchment on hot sheet. The steam will help release macarons.

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When fully cooled, Sandwich 2 same-size macarons with the filling of your choice.

I have used white chocolate butter cream. You get the recipe here

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41 thoughts on “Orange Macarons”

  7. they look so lovely…running out of words here…. my trial in macaroon was a big flop…since then I haven’t given it another try…u inspire me with different macaroon recipe…got to try it soon

    Reply

  11. Rekha,every now and then u bring macaroons of different colors it is hard to choose which is the best they all look equally good.The finish and perfection always tells me what an expert you are in baking.

    Reply

  13. Has anyone told you this…? You are the macaroon queen! Your macaron creations are awesome and I wish I could come and take a few lessons in macaron making beside popping in a few of those yummy macarons as well 😉

    Reply

  15. Lovely macarons Rekha… I jst posted macarons in my space… orange is an alltime favorite.. the one i didn’t try yet is white choc.ganache for macs… ur clicks are just superb!!

    Reply
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